Full speed ahead for Colorado State Fair

Monday

Although the world is currently on pause because of the ongoing pandemic, Scott Stoller and his Colorado State Fair team are moving forward with plans for this year’s expo, slated for Aug. 28-Sept. 7.

On Monday, Stoller, the fair’s general manager, announced the return of the World Slopper Eating Championship, the demolition derby and “Monster Truck” exhibition, as well as four days of professional rodeo to the 2020 fair.

Capping two of those rodeo performances will be country and western stalwarts Diamond Rio (Aug. 30) and self-made star Casey Donahew (Aug. 28), with one more post-rodeo act to be named.

“We have a responsibility to plan for the fair,” Stoller said in a telephone conversation. “Being that the guidance for public gatherings right now only goes into May, we will continue to watch that. And if we are getting into late June and early July, we’re going to have a pretty serious conversation.

“But we can’t just stop planning the fair, because there is a lot of work that goes into it. And if we did stop planning, we wouldn’t be able to put on a quality fair. If guidance is telling us it’s not permissible to have a state fair, we are prepared to pivot. But as of right now, the full staff is planning the fair as normal.”

Diamond Rio will perform following the Sunday rodeo: a first for the fair.

The band debuted in 1991 with the single "Meet in the Middle," which made Diamond Rio the first ever act to send a debut single to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. Diamond Rio charted 32 more singles between then and 2006, including four more that reached No. 1: "How Your Love Makes Me Feel" (1997), "One More Day" (2001), "Beautiful Mess" (2002), and "I Believe" (2003).

Three of the band's albums have achieved platinum certification and the collective has received four Group of the Year awards from the Country Music Association, two Top Vocal Group awards from the Academy of Country Music, and one Grammy Award.

Diamond Rio recently released a new album, “I Made It,” with 11 original songs.

With 17 years in the game, Donahew is beginning to reap the fruits of his labors.

A proud Texan, Donahew has charted his last four albums in the Billboard Country Top 10.

Donahew began playing professionally in 2002 by booking mostly bar gigs and building a dedicated fanbase among younger crowds. He gained notoriety online and on airwaves throughout Texas, and reached the Top 30 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart with “Moving On,” released in 2009.

In October 2011, the Casey Donahew Band released their fourth studio album titled “Double-Wide Dream.” From the album, the single "One Star Flag" found its way to the top spot on the Texas Music Chart.

In 2013, the album “Standoff” was released. It reached the top 10 of the Top Country Albums. Three years later, “All Night Party" was released and debuted at No. 3.

Donahew’s latest project is "One Light Town,“ which features 15 new songs, eight of which he wrote.

“I think we definitely make music for our fans,” Donahew writes on his official website. “We don’t worry about much else except making the fans happy and making ourselves happy, and we’ve been real lucky and fortunate in that I think we came along and started this band at a time when social media was really kind of starting to get some legs.”

True to its title, the 2019 World Slopper Eating Championship, the first ever, was a global hit, garnering widespread coverage and headlines.

In roughly the time it takes to make a slopper, Darron Breeden of Virginia was able to finish 28 and a quarter of the local delicacies.

That gut-stretching feat — accomplished in eight minutes — earned Breeden the world title and a $2,000 payday.

The 2020 championship again will be sanctioned by Major League Eating and is expected to draw bottomless stomach competitors from near and far.

“It was about as close to a home run as you can get,” Stoller said of last year’s competition. “And we’re hoping for the same this year.”

In the coming months leading up to the expo, Stoller said more of this year’s entertainment package will be revealed, with well known names from the genres of hip hop, classic funk and dance, good old-fashioned rock and roll, and country among the slated announcees.

One of those shows will be a Colorado Lottery promotion. Similar to last year’s 38 Special concert, the purchase of a designated number of lottery tickets, rather than a ticket, will assure admission.

jpompia@chieftain.com

Twitter: @jpompia

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